Three Way Mirror
by Elentiriel
Summary: In which Sophie, Howl, and Miss Angorian consider Sophie's beauty, inner and outer, or the lack of.


_A/N: Originally written for Yuletide 2008._

**Part One**  
Sophie Hatter knew she was not particularly pretty. In a way, she supposed, she was lucky she was an old woman when Howl took her and Michael to see Lily Angorian.

Now, Sophie was not particularly vain about looks, because Lettie was already the beautiful one in the family. Martha had charisma, or at least managed to get things done her way a good amount of the time. This left Sophie as the dull and shy one, who was neither ugly nor pretty, but average in looks. Most of the time, Sophie didn't mind. It was her fate, after all, to support her sisters in their adventures and not to have one of her own.

What really bothered her, however, was what happened after she returned to her true young self. When she was an old woman, she didn't care about what she looked like, and neither did anyone else. After all, no one looked at old people and thought about how beautiful or handsome they looked. Being an old woman had advantages, and Sophie had used them to their maximum potential. She could come out of her shell, and indeed she did, finding new confidence in bossing around Calcifer, Michael, and sometimes Howl. Maybe Howl knew she was the girl he had passed in the street that May Day, but he kept it to himself. That must have amused him to no end, Sophie thought.

When Howl took her and Michael to visit Lily Angorian, Sophie noticed how extraordinarily beautiful the schoolteacher was. As an old woman, Sophie didn't even think about the competition for looks. But as a young woman? Sophie knew she was nothing compared to Miss Angorian. It baffled her why Howl would chase such beautiful ladies such as Lettie and Miss Angorian, only in the end to really fall in love with plain (old) Sophie. Of course, there was the time-old phrase of "it's what is on the inside that counts," but sometimes Sophie thought she was just there to fulfill the Witch of the Waste's curse on Howl.

**Part Two**  
Howl caught Sophie staring in the mirror one day. Sophie seemed to be scrutinizing herself, possibly looking for a wrinkle or a freckle out of place. Wait, a wrinkle? She was too young to have any, and he was sure that there was none left over from the Witch of the Waste's spell. The freckles? If she had any, they certainly didn't bother him, and shouldn't bother anyone else. At the very least, freckles probably would add charm to Sophie.

So what was she staring at, and why?

"Sophie, what are you staring at? You haven't grown any new limbs or feathers, if you're wondering."

"I can look at myself, can't I? You can't be the vain one all the time," she snapped at him.

"That's not it. No one's put a new spell on you, unless you put one on yourself, and that would be hard to explain. You look as normal as you can be."

"Normal. That's all I'll ever be, isn't it? I'm not pretty at all."

Well, this was different. Despite that she was the shy girl he had met that May Day, Howl thought that the months of Sophie being an old woman had interjected confidence into her, and as a result, the newly young Sophie was much prettier than before. She positively oozed radiant confidence. He would be afraid of her if she decided to use her powers on him or any of his objects again.

"You haven't talked yourself into looking ugly, since I think you still look as radiant as ever."

Sophie snorted. "And what about all those flowery speeches about the ladies that you used to chase? Especially Miss Angorian," she said. The subject of Miss Angorian stunned him; why would she be comparing herself to the Witch's fire demon? Besides, that had been the perfect example of a pretty face covering a nasty interior.

This wasn't going well. Howl decided to leave Sophie alone for a while, and go work on some spells with Michael. If Sophie didn't come out of this mood by evening, Howl would get Lettie or Martha to sort Sophie out. The Witch of the Waste and Lily Angorian were dead, and neither should be bothering Sophie anymore.

**Part Three**  
How dare that good-for-nothing Howell Jenkins come in and then ask her to supper! Lily Angorian was furious after that small party had left, not only because she was engaged, but that man had the gall to ask her in front of others. It was rudeness beyond measure, in her opinion.

Even though she was a schoolteacher, Lily Angorian knew she was pretty. That was perhaps what had prompted Howell Jenkins to ask her; it certainly wasn't the first time a man not her fiance had done so. The two others that Howell Jenkins brought along with him seemed to be fairly ordinary, until she took a closer look. The boy looked normal enough to be one of her students, but he didn't seem to be a troublemaker. The old woman, however, was different. Something wasn't quite right.

The old woman lacked the quality of being old. There was something in those eyes that surprised Lily Angorian, and it seemed to her that the old woman was studying her as a curiosity. Or perhaps, it was the look that Lily Angorian often got from other women who thought she was too pretty for her own good. She didn't quite know, but it unnerved her. There was also the niggling sense that the old woman was really much younger. In that case, Lily Angorian would have liked to see the young version.

Lily Angorian got the chance to see the young version of that old woman when the Witch of the Waste approached Lily and turned her into the body for the fire demon. It was an unpleasant experience, but the tradeoff was worth it.

When Lily Angorian first saw Sophie through the veil of the spell, she was surprised. Sophie Hatter was much prettier than she expected. Golden hair with a tinge of red, blue green eyes, and an air of confidence about her, Sophie was quite the beauty. It was easy to see why Sophie saw her as a competitor, even if Lily Angorian didn't want Howell Jenkins' attentions. She only hoped that Howell Jenkins and Sophie Hatter would be happy together.


End file.
